THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines-Los Banos recently launched an exhibit focusing on thread and wood as artistic mediums.

Dubbed as ‘Intersections: Craft as Art, Art as Craft’, the exhibit features cross-stitched versions of paintings crafted by Dulcinea Roberto Laforteza and woodworks by Eugue Varona Dela Cruz.

Laforteza is a retired professor from the Department of Humanities while Dela Cruz is a sculptor and master carpenter.

The exhibit is in coordination with the Office of Initiatives for Culture and the Arts.

Gracing the opening program were Chancellor Jose Camacho, Jr., and vice chancellors Dr. Merdelyn Lit of research and extension. They were joined by Dr. Fernando Paras, Jr. of planning and development.

The exhibit was opened last November 10 at the Sining Makiling Gallery, DL Umali Hall Basement and will run until Dec. 18.

The cross-stitch work of Laforteza is most notable for using three threads, deviating from the usual double, and creating a fuller and more textured image on aida cloth.

“Initially dabbling in the craft as a form of relaxation, I pursued my love for cross-stitching to the point where I had rend in thread several paintings from Filipino masters Fernando Amorsolo, Manuel Baldemor, Jorge Pineda, and Hugo Yonzon, all of which can be found on display at the exhibit,” Laforteza said.

Meanwhile, the woodwork and wooden inlays of Dela Cruz pay tribute to what he calls ‘a dying art’, which puts together techniques that he gleaned from reverse engineering works by Filipino craftsmen and from the various woodworking methods from other countries.

His inlay art enhances the natural beauty of his medium and uses their hues and textures to depict images and scenes, from still lives, to rural landscapes and to portraiture.

The exhibit can also be viewed virtually through OICA’s official Facebook page.